{"id":2615,"date":"2016-01-27T04:51:27","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T04:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/?p=2615"},"modified":"2016-01-27T04:51:27","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T04:51:27","slug":"fic-behind-the-curtain-librarians-cassandralamia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/?p=2615","title":{"rendered":"Fic: Behind the Curtain (Librarians, Cassandra\/Lamia)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written for:<\/strong> Merfilly, for Femslash Exchange 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

There was enough of the old Cassandra left to appreciate that her private quarters were divided from the rest of the compound by a curtain. She\u2019d loved The Wizard of Oz<\/u> as a little girl\u2014both the books and the movie\u2014as much because of her parents\u2019 efforts to make her live in the real world as in spite of them. In fact, the one time she\u2019d ever broken curfew before the brain tumor, she\u2019d snuck out of the house to meet a friend at a local movie theater that was showing the movie on the big screen for one night only. And the moment which had always affected her the most was the moment when Toto pulled the curtain aside and revealed the Wizard for who he really was. She\u2019d felt Dorothy\u2019s disappointment as keenly as if it were her own, maybe because she\u2019d felt it herself when her parents sat her down at three and told her Santa wasn\u2019t real.<\/p>\n

The best part about becoming the Librarian had been discovering that she didn\u2019t have to wake up like Dorothy after all. That the world really was as magical and colorful as Oz.<\/p>\n

Now…she was supposed to be Glinda, but more often than not, she felt like the man behind the curtain instead. Oh sure, her power was real, not illusion like the Wizard\u2019s. It was a part of her now, so much so that it was easier to call a book into her hand than to cross the room to pull it off the shelf. But the great sorceress, the benevolent ruler, the savior of mankind from the dragons…she was no more that woman than she was the quirky girl she\u2019d once been. But the mask only came off behind the curtain.<\/p>\n

A flick of the hand closed the heavy draperies behind her. Only when they were drawn did Cassandra allow her shoulders to sag ever so slightly. Familiar hands that were not her own were already reaching to draw the cloak from her shoulders. She closed her eyes for a moment of blessed relief and smiled when those hands ghosted over the skin of her arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you all right?\u201d Lamia asked quietly as she folded the cloak over her arm. Outside, she would have added \u2018my Liege\u2019 to the end of that sentence, but that title was forbidden in here at Cassandra\u2019s request.<\/p>\n

Cassandra nodded wearily. \u201cJust tired,\u201d she answered.<\/p>\n

Lamia frowned. She draped the cloak from its peg before turning back. Her fingers found Cassandra\u2019s back again, but this time digging in firmly, kneading muscles that carried the world on them. \u201cKeeping the dragons at bay seems to be taking a great deal more strength than it once did. I worry for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Closing her eyes again, Cassandra leaned back into her Guardian\u2019s ministrations. \u201cI know. And I appreciate it. But who else is there?\u201d Magic was loose in the world, but there were too few people left who knew how to wield it. Too few people left, period. Morgan le Fay had long since fled, and Cassandra didn\u2019t blame her mentor.<\/p>\n

Lamia\u2019s grip tightened involuntarily. \u201cIf I could shoulder part of the burden for you, I would,\u201d she vowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou already do,\u201d Cassandra told her, twisting out of her hands only so she could turn to look her in the eyes. Her smile was weak only because her strength was temporarily exhausted. She reached for Lamia\u2019s hand and twined it with her own before leaning in to press a chaste but fervent kiss to the corner of her mouth. \u201cI know I don\u2019t tell you enough, but I couldn\u2019t do this without you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lamia smiled too, but uncertainly. \u201cEven though if not for me, you wouldn\u2019t have to do it at all?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassandra sighed and drew back. \u201cYou know I don\u2019t like it when you talk like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d Lamia retorted. She was surprisingly stubborn in her guilt when they were here, behind what passed for closed doors. Even though in public, she wore her role as Guardian proudly, as the badge of honor it was. \u201cIt\u2019s the truth. I cost you the Library. I cost you your Guardian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are my Guardian,\u201d Cassandra retorted firmly, her hand fastening around Lamia\u2019s chin and forcing their eyes to meet. \u201cDulaque killed Eve. Judson and Charlene cut the Library loose to protect it from him, not you. You proved your loyalty when you killed Dulaque to save me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lamia grimaced. She tugged her chin out of Cassandra\u2019s grip and ducked her eyes. \u201cI have heard some say it proves only that I am loyal to no one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anger like lava surged upwards in Cassandra, a burst of power shaking the building. She knew there were those who envied Lamia\u2019s closeness to her, the trust she placed in her. But that they would take it so far as this…as far as trying to discredit her Guardian. \u201cWho said that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lamia\u2019s eyes widened in surprise. She reached for the bedpost with one hand to steady herself until the shaking subsided. It said a great deal about the trust between them that her voice didn\u2019t waver, though. Even the most dramatic displays of Cassandra’s power weren’t enough to make her afraid, thank God. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does matter,\u201d Cassandra insisted. She grabbed Lamia\u2019s arm, as if she could make her own urgency bleed through the skin between them; like a drug or a disease transmitted by touch. \u201cI need you here with me, physically and mentally. Anyone who makes you doubt yourself puts us all in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

It hadn\u2019t always been that way. They\u2019d danced around each other in uneasy circles for quite a while; Cassandra resentful, Lamia still coping with having her worldview turned upside down. But the Library had known, which was why it had chosen Lamia for her even when Cassandra hadn\u2019t wanted a new Guardian.<\/p>\n

Everything had changed when the dragons awoke.<\/p>\n

Lamia\u2019s hand covered hers. \u201cI just…I suppose I just don\u2019t understand. Why the Library chose me when I was your enemy. Why you forgave me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you saw me,\u201d Cassandra answered quietly. \u201cBecause you see<\/em> me. Because you\u2019re the only one who does anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes Cassandra missed the girl she had been, all those years ago before she\u2019d found the spell to cure her tumor and transformed herself in the process. The overlapping feedback, the sheer chaos of sound and color and memory and taste all mixed up together. Eve had missed that too. Cassandra sometimes thought that she\u2019d lost Eve long before Dulaque killed her. Her Guardian had died for her, but her lover had never stopped mourning that lost girl.<\/p>\n

Lamia loved who she was now; magic, seriousness, and all. And there were days when that was all that kept Cassandra going. The others feared her. They remained loyal only because they feared the dragons more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could make them see you,\u201d Lamia\u2019s eyes flashed defiance for a moment, her voice as fierce as it had been the day she\u2019d accused Cassandra of trying to keep magic to herself. She might play meek more often than not these days, setting the example for the others so none of them got themselves killed by leaving the protective circle of Cassandra\u2019s influence, but that didn\u2019t mean the fire was gone. Only that she banked it.<\/p>\n

Cassandra smiled warmly. Her heart ached with love for this loyal rebel she\u2019d somehow won to her side. \u201cNo, you can\u2019t. You could make them say they do, sure, but that\u2019s it.\u201d She let go of Lamia\u2019s arm, but only to curl the same hand possessively around her neck. \u201cBut thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coals surged back to life in Lamia\u2019s eyes. \u201cI would do anything for you,\u201d she whispered fiercely. \u201cMy Librarian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassandra\u2019s breath hitched in her throat. \u2018My Liege\u2019 might be forbidden here, but when Lamia said \u2018My Librarian\u2019 in that tone, it meant something entirely different. Something that was not only allowed but welcomed here, and only here. Not because it was something private, but because this Lamia was one Cassandra didn\u2019t share with anyone. \u201cI know,\u201d she responded, her own eyes darkening as she leaned in for a kiss. \u201cBut show me anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written for: Merfilly, for Femslash Exchange 2015. There was enough of the old Cassandra left to appreciate that her private quarters were divided from the rest of the compound by a curtain. She\u2019d loved The Wizard of Oz as a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[941,169,940],"tags":[113,947,943,946,945,193,170,944,942],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615\/revisions\/2616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}